I think there is a chance that ActiStem might work but I would only recommend trying it if you have deep enough pockets to be able to afford to fail. I’d also say anyone using it should do so with caution as it’s largely untested and not necessarily that safe!
The man behind the product is Dr. Bill Paspaliaris, the owner of AdiStem Ltd. I don’t think he has the best reputation in the hair loss community, although this seems due more to the fact that he seems happy to start selling products before he knows they’re safe! I should probably warn potential users of the product that his lab did not come up to standards during an inspection in 2002; he was slated in the Herald in Australia for charging high fees for potentially unsafe medical practices to the extent that he moved his lab abroad (to the Phillippines) and he is not a medical doctor. He has a PhD and I think it’s in pharmacology, but he is not a medical doctor (most of the controversy about him surrounds this fact as he was performing treatment on patients himself without the qualifications, as far as I am aware).
Despite this, a number of people treated by him now go to the Phillippines. I have yet to read a negative article from a patient. So I would probably describe him as an eccentric genius with a disrespect towards authority rather than a quack. However, I’d say only pursue ActiStem if you’re desperate (like me).
The product itself hasn’t been tested that much. One of the benefits for the good doctor from operating in the Phillippines is that he doesn’t really have to do that much safety testing. In the US and a number of European countries, it can often take years between a product that works being formulated and being available on the market, largely due to safety issues. After all, Dutasteride has been around for about 9 years now and has still not been released as a stronger version of Propecia, even though it blatantly is.
Indeed, instead of doing clinical trials, he just sold jars of the stuff and asked for feedback by 1 March 2010! No safety testing, a fair bit of honesty that he didn’t know whether it works…
So, in conclusion, I think there’s a 50/50 chance that it works; I don’t know if it’s safe and the man selling it is a bit controversial. So, will I try it?
Yes. Because baldness really, really, really sucks. I hate losing my hair so much that I am prepared to risk my financial stability and my health to stop it. I’ll keep you posted on how it works.
The rest of my regimen is 0.5mg Dutas, 200mg Beta Sitosterol, 295g Saw Palmetto and Revivogen. I’ll have to decrease my use of the revivogen with the ActiStem though.
And they say men get over it